Insertion equipment desirably is capable of reliably handling a large variety of materials that are to be processed. The materials may be sheets to be folded, pre-folded and unfolded inserts, return or enclosure envelopes, and the envelope into which the materials are to be inserted. These materials may be of different sizes, thickness and types such as glossy pamphlets, advertising brochures or very thin sheet materials. Additionally the envelopes into which the materials are to be inserted can have different shaped envelope flaps, envelope throat profiles and envelope flap glue lines. Because equipment of this type has to handle a range of materials the machine exit paths may present the materials in a less than optimum orientation or may limit the range of materials that can be handled. In certain instances the machine may be required to be stopped and reconfigured for specific materials to be processed. This is compounded when thick or unbendable materials such as flats types of envelopes containing brochures, annual reports, large multisheet billing, and the like or delicate materials such as flats containing photos, glossy pamphlets, and the like, are processed in the machine along with materials of a normal thickness such as letter size envelopes.
Reliably processing such a range of materials is difficult and has led to equipment being designed with separate dedicated, less than optimum exit transport paths for various categories of materials to be processed. Moreover, these transport paths may enlarge the size of the equipment by requiring extra length or width for the machine if reliable processing is to be achieved. Systems must often compromise between being capable of handling types of mailpieces such as thicker, stiffer or larger mailpieces, or employing alternate exit methods which can be expensive and do not exit the mailpiece in the most desirable orientation. Many systems will have only one exit path which will allow for processing one general type of mail such as generic letter size mail in the United States and in Europe.